Predictions for Apple's WWDC

Today (2 June) kicks off Apple's annual week-long developer
conference, WWDC. At its opening keynote, the company will surely
offer a sneak peek at the next generation of Mac and iOS software.
But Apple often gives us a first look at new hardware and partner
products too, like the MacBook Pro with Retina Display in 2012 and
last year's onstage debut of Anki
Drive.

So what's in store for this year's keynote? Based on what we
know about Apple, iOS, Mac OS X, as well as whispers from various
"inside sources" in Cupertino, we can expect big news around health
and home automation platforms, as well as a preview of
next-generation mobile and desktop software. Here's a rundown of
the possibilities:

Apple's health initiative
If Apple is planning on unveiling a health-focused wearable later
this year, it may decide to remain quiet about key iOS 8 features
like the rumoured Healthbook app, a Passbook-like aggregator for
health and fitness stats tracked by apps and accessories. But we
don't think that will be the case.

Apple's developer event is the perfect time and place to preview
its reported health and fitness platform. According to one mobile
health executive with ties to Apple, the company is working on " a full health and fitness services platform modelled on its
apps store." A big part of this, we'd expect, is this new Healthbook app.

Healthbook will reportedly aggregate and track everything from
heart rate and blood pressure to nutrition, sleep patterns, and
general activity. Third party apps will be able to plug into this
app, much like ticketing or coupon apps can integrate with Passbook
now. Considering the number of leaks we've seen so far, Healthbook
will likely be one of the key iOS 8 features Apple demonstrates
today.

Samsung certainly seems to think Apple's about to make some
health-related announcements. This week, the company unveiled a health
initiative of its own. But with a significant number of details
left for its own developer conference later this year, it was
mostly hot air. If Apple gives developers access to its own health
platform, as we expect it will, you can bet those APIs and SDKs
will be available for developers to start using right away. After
all, it will want those apps iOS 8-, iPhone 6-, and potentially
iWatch-ready by fall.

But why would Apple get into the health space in the first
place? For starters, it's a booming business. In 2013, a study by
Kantar Media found that 25 percent of smartphone owners and 22 percent tablet owners
use their devices to track their health, diet, or exercise (that's
55.7 million U.S. adults, up from 43.9 million the year prior,
according to their numbers). Roughly 20 percent of Americans diet and 50 percent work out regularly. More and more of these people
are using smartphones and apps to augment their fitness success.
According to app analytics firm Mixpanel, health and fitness apps
also do a better job of retaining users than the average app, and
see more regular use. It would behoove Apple to foster this growing
space -- and perhaps get a piece of the fitness pie
itself.

iBeacons and home automation
Apple introduced iBeacons -- Bluetooth LE transmitters that can
send or receive data from iOS 7 devices -- in mid 2013. A growing
number of big-name retailers (and of course Apple's own retail
stores) have started using them for improving customers' in-store
experiences. This year, Apple could finally introduce its own
mobile payment platform using iBeacons, or at least give developers
more ways to utilise them.

Some folks think Apple will employ NFC for this home automation
system, or for Apple's mobile payments system. I think the company
would only switch to NFC if it decided that iBeacons and Bluetooth
LE were a failed attempt -- and clearly, they're not.

Take, for example, GE's new iBeacon-integrated lighting fixtures. Google may have grabbed
Nest, but with iBeacons, hardware manufacturers can build-in easy
iOS controls for a new type of home automation system. And Apple
will reportedly debut a home automation system at WWDC. The platform should be
similar to Apple's existing "Made for iPhone" program for
third-party hardware products, but as an API that developers can
tap into. Google is already working on a similar
home automation API thanks to its Nest acquisition, so making
such an API available during WWDC would give Apple an edge over its
nemesis.

Gartner expects the number of internet connected devices to
reach 26
billion by the year 2020. If Apple is first, and dominant, in
getting product makers onboard, that's a lucrative business to get
into, since it could give the company additional licensing revenues
from certified products.

Beyond that, Apple's home automation system could eventually
involve iCloud and Siri for a) a unified place for storing data and
b) a way to easily control the disparate pieces of this home
automation system. But this would likely be more of a Version 2.0
or Version 3.0 addition, not what we'll see today.

Other iOS 8 updates
Streaming music could be another focus at WWDC, particularly now
that the Apple-Beats
deal has officially closed. At last year's WWDC, Apple
introduced iTunes
Radio, a streaming music service akin to Pandora that builds a
station around a song or artist. But it hasn't been the success
Apple hoped for. That means it could be getting its own standalone
app in order to draw more eyes. The service could also benefit from
the Beats acquisition -- but it's more likely any integration with
Beats software and development would happen further down the
line.

Maps, which turned into a huge debacle following the launch of
iOS 6, should also experience some significant upgrades with iOS 8.
While it's already improved handily over the past two years, public
transit information and directions should be one of its major
improvements, as well as improved labelling and map data. I
personally hope to see biking directions added, as well.

Mac OS X 10.10
OS X 10.10 will be the primary focus of today's keynote as the
desktop operating system gets a major design overhaul -- much like
iOS did in 2013. Indeed, the redesign should bring some iOS 7
aesthetics, like more white space and icons reminiscent of their
iOS counterparts. The two operating systems won't be identical, but
they will reportedly have a more harmonious look. While Apple will
most definitely preview OS X 10.10 at WWDC, the OS won't be
available for the masses until later this fall.

Apple switched the naming scheme of OS X from big cats to
California landmarks last year with 10.9 Mavericks. This version's
name ( codename "Syrah"), however, is still a mystery. Apple has
trademarked names like Big Sur, Yosemite, California, Redwood,
Diablo, and Pacific, among others. This is going to be a big
update, so I'm guessing the name will also reflect that. Apple
pundit John Gruber thinks Yosemite would be an appropriate choice.
I think Big Sur or Redwood would also be good options.

Hardware
Will we see any remarkable new hardware at this year's show? When
it comes to the iPhone, iPad, and a potential wearable, that's a
definite no. There are hints of a new iMac model, so it's possible Apple could introduce an
evolutionary upgrade to its desktop computer line. A redesigned
Apple TV, which we've been hearing about for months, likely will
not be unveiled today (although we hope Apple will give developers
greater access to Apple TV APIs). And a new television set? Hahaha,
don't be ridiculous.

The beats
While Apple went ahead and made its Beats acquisition official this week, there could be
more Beats-related news at the WWDC keynote. For example, CEO Tim
Cook could bring Beats heads Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine onstage to
announce their addition to Apple's executive team. If Apple did
this, I would expect it at the end of the keynote, possibly prior
to a musical performance. Apple could also simply mention the Beats
acquisition in passing as it highlights notable milestones for the
company at the beginning of the keynote. Given the tall order of
news and updates we're expecting for WWDC, the latter may be a more
reasonable expectation.